Italy Travel Guide - ROME

Welcome to the last segment of our Italy travel guide! The last stop on our list is Rome, where we stayed for four nights. We wanted to visit many other Italian cities but just couldn’t fit them all. We plan to go back and explore the southern cities in the future.

If you haven’t already read our previous blog posts, here’s a list of the cities we have covered so far:

Public transport

You are probably an expert at the whole public transport gig by now, but I’ll leave the link to our Milan blog post where you can go and check out some links about Italian railways and the Eurail pass. Within Rome, however, you’ll most likely be using the subway and buses. The subway is very similar to Florence, with pre-loaded tickets you can use for multiple day passes. This is what we used to travel around the city, along with hopping on buses closer to the city, and in between attractions.

Accommodation

Our Airbnb in Rome is situated in Pigneto, a very artsy & ‘hip’ area that was very quiet yet not far from the city. This has to be my second favourite Airbnb out of the whole trip, as the flat was so beautifully decorated with a theatre theme. There were many restaurants around the area, within 1-2 minute walking distance, which was so handy when we wanted to grab something quick late at night. There are also a few bars and cocktail bars very close by which was a wonderful added bonus. The subway station, and a fresh food market was also close by, within 5-10 minute walking distance, so also ideal. Not to mention this Airbnb was actually amongst the cheapest out of all the ones we stayed in Italy!

Places to see

Rome is filled with beautiful places to see. So much history and culture is embedded to the very walls of the city, and you’ll be there for days admiring the beautiful structure and architecture that came about some hundreds and thousands of years ago.

We went to the Colosseum, of course, but actually didn’t buy the ticket until the day before. We called up the ticket office and was helped by the operators who informed us that the tickets can be bought on the day, however the tours were booked up in advance. We intended on trying the underground tour, but because it was booked up, we didn’t get to—but we were happy to just stroll around the top areas and take some epic photos nonetheless. The crowds were not too bad, and the October weather was pleasantly cool.

We also went to the Pantheon, but visited it at night time. It was magnificent, and I would highly recommend night time visits to the attractions as there are less crowds and it’s much cooler in the evening. We walked to the Trevi Fountain next, and it was even more beautiful in person (just be aware there are always going to be lots of people).

We also went to the Vatican Museums, and the Sistine Chapel. I would highly highly recommend booking tickets way in advance for skip the line to the Vatican Museums and through to Sistine Chapel, as the line on the day was absolutely killer. Beautiful, beautiful paintings, and amazing art and architecture that speaks mounds of history just by its very sight. It’s amazing to see.

Places to eat

We didn’t do much exploring here, however there are a few eating spots that are pretty memorable. For lunch, Italian sandwiches were becoming a regular for us and we were so spoilt for options. But we absolutely loved Angrypig, a café/restaurant that specializes in Porchetta sandwiches. They were amazing! Angrypig definitely rivals All’Antico in Florence, for sure.

If you’re feeling a bit more fancy, our favourite restaurant experience in Rome was Trattoria al Moro. This is the most traditional Roman food you’ll get – with waiters in suits and ample flowing wine. I loved the Roman-style mushroom pasta and the antipasto was also divine.

If you like some music with your wine, or want to explore some great cocktail bars, Pigneto is the perfect neighbourhood for you. We enjoyed vego food at Vitaminas 24, loved Magnebevo e sto al Pigneto for some killer cocktails, and walked down the streets and listened to some amazing live music as well. It’s only 30 minutes away by subway so it would be a great night out option.

Budgeting

We were a little bit ahead of our budget, so we did spend some moolah to do some last minute shopping, and treated ourselves to a couple night outs in restaurants. But all in all, Rome is quite similar to the other cities that we went to.

Accommodation: €300

Food: €300

Attractions: €50

Transport: €20 for public transport and about the same for taxi’s from the train station to our Airbnb

Everything else: €150 (shopping etc)

Final notes

I hope you enjoyed this travel series that we did on Italy! I hope you found it helpful in some way, and can’t wait to share with you more destinations in the future.

If you have any suggestions for any future blog posts, or places that we should see, or suggestions for us for the next time we’re in Italy, leave a comment below and let me know! I would love to check out your suggestions.